THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY of AMERICA Christ and the Triumphant Victims: Relics and the Altar in the Ordo Dedicationis Ecclesiae E
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THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA Christ and the Triumphant Victims: Relics and the Altar in the Ordo dedicationis ecclesiae et altaris A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Faculty of the School of Theology and Religious Studies Of The Catholic University of America In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree Doctor of Philosophy © Copyright All Rights Reserved By Suzanne Sarah Herold Washington, DC 2016 Christ and the Triumphant Victims: Relics and the Altar in the Ordo dedicationis ecclesiae et altaris Suzanne Sarah Herold, Ph.D. Director: Michael G. Witczak, S.L.D. This dissertation examines the use of relics in the Ordo dedicationis ecclesiae et altaris in light of the Second Vatican Council’s liturgical theology. The dissertation utilizes the method described by Kevin Irwin in Context and Text. The dissertation begins with a historical study of the extant rites of dedication of a church. It studies how the rite of dedication developed and how relics became a required element of the ritual, including the translation, vigil and deposition of relics. The work looks at the meanings associated with relics as well as the perceived relationship between relics and the altar. Beginning with the Medieval period, relics were understood to be necessary for dedication, with the celebration of Mass a festive completion of the rite. Rites of dedication include the deposition of relics as a central ritual moment from the fourth century through the middle of the twentieth century. Through historical study, the use of Conciliar documents, and the examination of the role of relics in the schemata of the Consilium, this dissertation presents an analysis of the shifts in the understanding regarding the dedication of a church. The Ordo dedicationis ecclesiae et altaris is then examined in light of the Council’s teaching that the liturgy is the source and summit of Christian life. Renewed attention to the importance of the Eucharistic celebration led to the situation of the revised rite of dedication within the Mass and to relics becoming an optional element. The sacrifice of saints and martyrs are once again viewed in light of the Paschal Mystery. This dissertation presents the liturgical and theological implications of including relics in the Rite of Dedication of a Church and an Altar. This dissertation presents a new study of the liturgical role of relics in the rite of dedication of a church in light of the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. It aims to contribute an understanding of the liturgical theology expressed by the use of relics in the Ordo dedicationis ecclesiae et altaris. This dissertation by Suzanne Sarah Herold fulfills the dissertation requirement for the doctoral degree in Liturgical Studies approved by Michael G. Witczak, S.L.D., as Director, and by Margaret Mary Kelleher, Ph.D., and David Dawson Vasquez, Ph.D. as Readers. _______________________________________ Michael G. Witczak, S.L.D., Director _______________________________________ Margaret Mary Kelleher, Ph.D., Reader _______________________________________ David Dawson Vasquez, Ph.D., Reader ii Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .......................................................................................................................... v GENERAL INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 1 Method ................................................................................................................................................................ 1 The Dissertation .............................................................................................................................................. 8 Chapter One: History of the Rite of Dedication from the Peace of the Church through the Seventeenth Century ................................................................................................................. 10 Third Century Beginnings: Eusebius of Caesarea and Ambrose of Milan .................................. 10 The Liturgical Articulation of the Dedication of a Church, 500-950 ........................................... 19 The Liturgical Developments of the Rite of Dedication in the Pontificals of the Middle Ages, 950-1300 ......................................................................................................................................................... 38 Developments in the Pontifical Tradition from the Council of Trent through the Seventeenth Century ................................................................................................................................... 66 Conclusions ..................................................................................................................................................... 68 Chapter Two: The Cult of Saints and Relics ............................................................................... 70 Christian Antiquity ....................................................................................................................................... 70 The Cult of Saints and Relics in the Medieval Period ........................................................................ 85 Sixteenth Century Through the Early Twentieth Century ........................................................... 105 Conclusions .................................................................................................................................................. 112 Chapter Three: Context of Reform and the Rite in the Pontificale Romanum 1961/2 ............................................................................................................................................................... 114 Liturgical Movement ................................................................................................................................. 115 The Pian Commission ............................................................................................................................... 126 Pontificale Romanum 1961/2 ............................................................................................................... 127 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................... 137 Chapter Four: Vatican II and Post Conciliar Reform ........................................................... 138 Second Vatican Council ............................................................................................................................ 139 Schemata on the Rite of Dedication of a Church .............................................................................. 151 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................... 184 Chapter Five: Decree and Praenotanda of the Ordo dedicationis ecclesiae et altaris ............................................................................................................................................................... 186 Structure of the 1977 Ordo ..................................................................................................................... 187 Decree of Promulgation ........................................................................................................................... 188 Praenotanda of Chapter 2: Understanding the Rite of Dedication of a Church .................... 189 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................... 205 Chapter Six: Ordo Dedicationis Ecclesiae ............................................................................... 209 Rite of Dedication of a Church ............................................................................................................... 210 An Excursus on Relics as Sign and Symbol ........................................................................................ 235 The Rite of Dedication of a Church in the 1989 Ceremonial of Bishops .................................. 237 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................... 238 iii Chapter Seven: Altars after the Second Vatican Council .................................................... 243 Conciliar and Post-Conciliar Documents ........................................................................................... 243 Altars and Relics in the 1983 Code of Canon Law ........................................................................... 248 Altars in the Ordo dedicationis altaris ............................................................................................... 255 Ceremonial of Bishops ............................................................................................................................. 262 Particular Guidelines for the United States ...................................................................................... 264 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................... 270 Chapter Eight: Changes in the Understandings of Saints and Relics .............................. 272 From the Rise of the Cult of Relics through the Medieval Period .............................................